Credits go to kurogane, for this amazing poster.

[ Thirty Three. Fallen ]

Dara hopped off the bus and began walking towards YG headquarters. For the first time since her return to Korea, she actually looked forward to this day, to working in the studio at her new company. It might be because she had written a song that she loves and was satisfied with. Or the fact that she had earned the approval of her co-workers, who originally did not have faith in her abilities. More than anything, Jiyong’s rare civility towards her last night cheered her up. A smile was on her face as she put her hands inside the pockets of Jiyong’s pair of skinny jeans that she borrowed, humming the chorus of “Go Away”. Her entire outfit today came from Jiyong’s enormous closet; her clothes from yesterday reeked of smoke and alcohol, so she had no choice but to find new temporary clothes. He would not even notice one of his many white tees and red flannel shirt was missing at all. All of Jiyong’s clothes had his scent, and now Dara smells like him too. It made her giddy for some reason. If “G-Dragon” saw her wearing his clothes, he might get mad but Dara wouldn’t let that bother her. After all, she had done him a big favor by cleaning around the apartment and doing things beforehand that he might have trouble doing with an injured hand. Why did I do it? She looked up briefly at the clear sky, wistfully wishing for the answer to fall from the sky so that she won’t have to think. He got injured because of me, so of course I have to take full responsibility for it. If it had been anyone else, I would do the same thing.

Would I?

Reaching the building, Dara was thrown off guard when she saw a huge crowd barely held back by YG’s security guards. Although there were many fans of YG’s celebrities that cluster around the building daily, waiting for a glimpse of their idol to appear, she has not seen such a big crowd this early in the morning until this day. Most of the people in the crowd were females, youngest from those wearing junior high school uniforms and pigtails to office ladies that were wearing their business suits while holding briefcases and folders of documents. Some of them were holding handmade signs decorated with glitter, neon-colored letterings, and stickers, while others were waving around posters wildly.

“Choi! Seung! Hyun! Choi! Seung! Hyun!” They chanted in unison. “Seunghyun oppa, welcome back to Korea!”

Choi Seunghyun? Dara squinted her eyes and found that the large heads on the signs and posters were of no other than her friend, Seunghyun. To the surprise of everyone from their year in Seoul University, Choi Seunghyun did not pursue a musical career after his exchange program at Vienna and graduation. Instead, during his stay in Europe, he had been scouted by a modeling agency. After working as a model for two years, quickly gaining international attention from the fashion industry, Seunghyun made his debut in acting and returned to Korea to sign with YG Entertainment, becoming the first model-actor in the agency. Seunghyun had actually visited Dara and Donghae in the States a couple of times while he traveled there for work, and Dara had been more than happy to see that he had finally found his passion for something, even if it was not music.

“Miss Park, please go in.” One of the security guards waved her forward when Dara gingerly approached the mob of fangirls. As she made her way into the building, the crowd stopped chanting Seunghyun’s name and fell to silence as they looked at her in wonder and discussed among themselves who was this person that could get into YG headquarters.

“She is not a debuted artist under YG.” A high school girl told her posse confidently. “I know all of the debuted artists, and she is definitely not one of them.”

“Maybe she’s a trainee for the upcoming YG girl group?” One girl wearing pigtails suggested hopefully.

“I don’t think so. She looks pretty enough for a model or actress.”

“Hey!” Another girl shouted as she closely examined the pictures she had snapped of Dara minute before. “The clothes she’s wearing…”

“What about them?” Her companion rolled her eyes in boredom. “They look ordinary. Just a simple pair of jeans and shirt.”

“They look like G-Dragon oppa’s clothes!”

“Dara! There you are!” Chaerin shouted, jumping up from her chair the moment Dara entered the studio. Teddy stopped in the middle of pacing back and forth, his face relieved upon seeing Dara as well. Dara looked at them questioningly. Had something happened yesterday that caused them to worry about her? To her knowledge, it should be her worrying about the two of them for drinking so much. “Where have you been? Why haven’t you been answering your phone? Oppa’s been so worried that you suddenly hung up on him last night!”

Dara widened her eyes as she remembered that she had been in the middle of a phone call with Donghae right before her near-collision with the motorcycle. She had been so caught up with the twisted turn of events that it had completely slipped her mind! And her phone! It flew out of her hand at the time, and she had forgotten to look for it. “I…It’s a long story. I think I lost my phone by the streets near the restaurant.”

“You lost it by the restaurant? I’ll tell Seungri to look for it for you. He was planning to stop by today anyways.” Teddy spoke up, immediately taking out his phone to contact Seungri. Dara thanked him gratefully, and told him details regarding where her phone might be, even though it was highly likely that it had been picked up by someone by now. “Seungri? Before you come by YG, can you stop by somewhere to look for Sandy’s phone? It’s near the…”

Looking distressed, Chaerin handed Dara her own cell phone. “Here, use mine to call oppa. He had been calling and texting me nonstop since last night, but I had been too wasted to pick up my phone. He must be worried sick about what happened to you.”

“Thank you.” Dara quickly went out into the hallway to call Donghae.

After barely two rings, Donghae picked up, his voice anxious. He had gotten home from a long day at work, unable to stop himself from checking his phone every five minutes for news concerning Dara’s whereabouts. He had gone out of his mind distressing over what might have happened to her, even considering contacting the Korean police force for help but persuaded himself to give it twenty four hours before acting rashly. It was unlike him to be irrational, but when it comes to Dara, he lost all reasons. “Chae? Has Dara contacted you yet?”

“It’s me, Donghae.” Dara felt guilty for making him anxious. Because of the time difference and the long distance, he must have been restless waiting for her news while not able to do anything about it. “Sorry for not contacting you sooner. Last night, we were at a restaurant, and the call suddenly ended when I lost my phone.”

“You were with Kwon Jiyong, weren’t you?” The eerily impassivity in Donghae’s voice made Dara’s shiver slightly. The usual gentleness he saved for Dara was gone, and Dara even suspected for a second that she had called the wrong number. This was not like Donghae.

“We were drinking and eating dinner at a restaurant with Chaerin and Teddy after work,” Dara explained patiently, although she cannot help feeling a bit annoyed at Donghae. Why does she feel as if she was a criminal being interrogated by him? She had done nothing wrong. Besides, Donghae had no right to demand an explanation for every little thing from her.

“I don’t like where this is going, rabbit.” Donghae asserted, his jaws clenching. It cannot be Dara initiating anything, so it must be Jiyong who had set everything up. It made him even angrier knowing that Kwon Jiyong is the one behind this. Obviously he is messing with Dara’s feelings. Donghae had knew it was a mistake to let Dara go back to Korea. Everything had been going so well, and this came out unexpectedly, crashing his perfect agenda. He was not a person that got angry easily, but one thought of Kwon Jiyong was enough to make him furious. “First working at the same agency as Kwon Jiyong? Then working on his album? Now it is late-night drinking? What’s next, getting back together again? And once again causing some more drama in the family? Santokki, is that what you want?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Dara asked defensively. She cannot believe that Donghae, who she believed was sensible and always willing to hear her out, was suddenly accusing her of something she did not do. The spiteful comment that blamed her for the familial madness also offended her greatly. It was like a stab in the back. As a close friend of hers, he should have known better than anyone else how painful and untouchable that memory was to her. “I’m not working on his album. Didn’t I tell you that I wrote a song for Chaerin’s debut album?”

“Is there really any need to lie to me when I already know everything?” Donghae raised his voice slightly. Why was Dara still lying to him? Is it to hide whatever it is between her and Kwon Jiyong? He hated himself for looking like a fool, going along with everything only to find that the two had met up and was on the path to rekindle their romance.

“I’m not lying to you! I’m telling you the truth, Donghae. Why can’t you believe me?”

“Because you’re not doing a very good job of earning my trust!” Donghae snapped.

“Earning?” Dara repeated hotly. “I have to earn your trust?” Dara had been more than grateful for Donghae’s company and friendship during the time of loneliness when she studied abroad. During a time when she was cut off from all contact with her family and friends, in an utterly unfamiliar country, Donghae had been there for her through it all, forever offering her assurance, kindness, and advice. It had been in the back of her mind that the affection Donghae held for her exceeded that of friendship. There were more than once that she was tempted to accept his feelings and try dating Donghae. After all, Donghae was the ideal Prince Charming, a completely flawless gentleman that seemingly matched every single one of her requirements and dreams. However, Dara had rejected that thought again and again, convincing herself that they were better off as friends because she could not afford losing a close friend like Donghae should they break up. It seems now that she does not even need a break-up to lose Donghae; she had already lost him. There was a visible crack on Donghae’s faultless character.

A tense silence fell upon the two of them, and Donghae took a sharp breath audibly. They had never fought before, and he had never gone so far as to raise his voice when talking to her. He cleared his throat, trying to make up for his mistake. “I’m sorry, tokki. You know I do not mean it that way.”

“Then what do you mean?” Dara challenged.

“Can’t you come back to SM Entertainment?” Donghae pleaded. “With you being so far away, it is…I mean, I feel…That is why I keep saying things…” Words tumbled around his th